


Brother Mine

by ylissianknights



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Character Death, Gen, Minor Saizo/Kagero, Mostly due to their past relationship, Saizo mourning, Spoilers, Spoilers for Birthright
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-25 06:02:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6183493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ylissianknights/pseuds/ylissianknights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Saizo?” Kagero was at his side, placing a hand on his shoulder in concern. Saizo started and then looked down at her. “Are you alright?”</p>
<p>He didn’t have the will to fight it off anymore.</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>How Saizo might have been after the 'incident'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brother Mine

* * *

 

 

“Saizo, you need to eat.”

The ninja grunted, not paying attention in the least. Kagero sighed and walked to his side, a platter of food in her hand. “It’s dangerous to stand so close to the edge.” She commented in a soft voice. A shadow crossed the man’s face.

“No shit.” He replied in a somewhat monotone voice. The two of them were sitting on a rock close to the edge of the cliff where, just a day ago, the accident took place. Kagero knew how precious Kaze had been to his twin, and it was obvious that Saizo wasn’t taking the loss well.

There were still flyers down in the valley, looking for the body. Maybe that’s what the older man was waiting for.

“Saizo-”

“Don’t.” He immediately cut her off. “Don’t even try. I’m not in the mood.”

The woman sighed again and leaned down to place the plate of food beside him.

“I’m sorry.” She told him in a whisper before taking her leave.

Saizo was glad she left before the tears fell.

 

* * *

  
“Saizo, please, I’m so sorry!”

The older man ignored her. He kept up his stride towards the training grounds. He was hoping to take his mind off the pain by sparring with his fellow soldiers. He did not need the reminder of his brother’s death nipping at his ankles.

Then he felt the noble grab his sleeve and tug at him. “C’mon, you have to listen to me-!”

Saizo turned to her. “I refuse to entertain this any longer. I serve you because I am faithful to Lord Ryoma. But only because. I will  _ not _ listen to  _ you _ . There’s nothing you can say to erase what  _ you _ have done.”

The returned princess let go of his sleeve, shame on her face and tears in her eyes. Saizo felt a grim satisfaction from the sight of it. Then, he turned and went on his way.

 

* * *

 

“You’re Saizo, right?” The man paused, already wary. So many of his fellow soldiers had stopped him, offering their meaningless apologies offered only to make themselves feel better. Nothing could take away the pain.

He grunted, pausing in his pace to face the person who’d called out to him. A shorter woman with short, blonde hair jogged up to him. Her armor reminded him of blood, and an image of his brother crippled at the bottom- He flinched, shaking the image from his mind.

“You… You’re Scarlet.” He offered, clearing his throat. The Chevois gave him a peculiar look before nodding.

“I’m so sorry, I only joined recently so I didn’t know him too well but, if there’s anything you need, I’m happy to help a friend.” She offered, her voice dripping with what Saizo  _ knew _ was pity.

He hated pity.

“I’m fine.” He replied sharply, narrowing his eyes. “I don’t need nor want your pity.” Then he turned and seemingly vanished.

Scarlet wrinkled her nose and huffed. “Ninjas.”

 

* * *

 

When Saizo arrived at his tent, he knew something was off. He immediately ducked inside and walked to his pallet. On it laid a charm and a note.

He picked the note up first.

 

_ We knew you wouldn’t take this if we gave it in person, so we just left it here for you! It should prove useful in coming to terms with Kaze’s death. _

_ -From Hayato & Orochi _

 

The ninja huffed in agitation and went to pick up the charm, which was a small glass bottle filled with a variety of herbs. The man thought it was a waste of time and pocketed it with the intention of giving(or throwing) it back to Orochi.

He never did.

 

* * *

  
For once, he didn’t feel the familiar bloodlust and passion burning in his veins as he fought off the enemy. It was a random attack as they were marching for the Nohrian capital.

All Saizo could think about was his forever lost twin. Gods, how he wished it was just a horrible dream, and he’d wake up soon. They’d-He’d-already lost their-his-father. Now Kaze.

“Watch out!” Saizo ducked out of the way just as an enemy lance pierced the space he’d been standing in. The Chevois woman, Scarlet, swooped in and dispatched the foe with a blow to the skull. She looked at Saizo with a worried expression on her face. “You okay?”

Saizo just grunted, yet he was far from okay. All he could think about was… Did the enemy have a brother, too?

The ninja turned away and threw himself full force into the fray. He’d make himself forget.

 

* * *

 

“So, Saizo, how’s the charm working?” A sing-song voice called out. Saizo sighed before turning to look at Orochi. The diviner was twirling a strand of lavender hair around her finger while walking towards him with the look of ‘ _ I’m up to no good _ ’ on her face.

“Charm?” He feigned ignorance, suddenly aware of the bottle’s presence in his pocket. Orochi gave him a disapproving look.

“You know good and well what I’m talking about, sourpuss.” She scorned him. Saizo just shrugged his shoulders, having no will to fight her off.

“Alright, what about it?”

“Is it working.” She repeated insistently.

“How the hell would I know.” Saizo shot back. Orochi looked thoughtful.

“True, you’re always so grumpy that  _ no _ one would be able to tell if you’d taken the stick out of your-”

“Goodbye.”

 

* * *

 

“Saizo, how are you?” Great, the one person he couldn’t run from. The ninja moved to face his lord, a neutral look on his face.

“I am fine, milord. There’s no need to-” Ryoma cut him off with a look.

“Do I look a fool, my friend?” The samurai questioned. Saizo sighed and shook his head. “Good. Talk to me, Saizo. Everyone is worried about you. I..” The man moved to stand closer, a look of sympathy on his face, “I know how it feels, to lose a sibling.”

Of course, the returned princess had once been the kidnapped princess. Kidnapped by Nohr and King Garon, the fiends responsible for everything wrong.

“Of course, milord. I swear to you, I’ll come running if anything is wrong.”

Before Ryoma could reply, Saizo was gone.

 

* * *

  
He finally broke.

One moment, Saizo had been throwing himself into training new recruits, the next he was paralyzed. He watched two brothers, so similar in appearance that he  _ knew _ they were twins, embrace each other with the brotherly familiarity that he no longer knew.

“Saizo?” Kagero was at his side, placing a hand on his shoulder in concern. Saizo started and then looked down at her. “Are you alright?”

He didn’t have the will to fight it off anymore.

“No.”

Kagero managed to get him to his tent before the tears fell. That night, she didn’t leave his side. He had always been taught that men, that  _ Saizos _ , didn’t cry. They had to be strong, and tears were weak. But he couldn’t stop the tears this time.

_ Brother, I miss you. _

 

* * *

 

 

“How are you feeling?” Someone asked. Saizo groaned as soon as he realized who the voice belonged to. He immediately sat up on his cot and furiously rubbed his eyes.

“Lord Ryoma, I-I am deeply sorry for my sorry display. Please-”

“Saizo.” The ninja fell silent and finally brought himself to look at his lord. The other man wore a face of concern and, again, sympathy.

“Milord, please, it pains me to know you feel sorry for me-”

“I do not.” Ryoma cut in again. “I do not feel sympathy, my friend. I feel  _ empathy _ . I nearly lost myself in the same way that you did when Corrin was taken from us.” Saizo flinched at hearing  _ her _ name. “Friend, I told you that I  _ know _ how it feels to lose a sibling that you love dearly. But Kaze would not want to see you fall apart from his passing. That is all I wanted to say. Rest well, Saizo.”

The samurai took his leave and Saizo simply blinked after him. The man was right, Kaze wouldn’t stand for his twin’s behavior.

_ But Kaze’s not here. _

 

* * *

 

After a bit of backtracking to take care of a Nohrian raid on a border town, Saizo found time to slip away and return to the cliffside where Kaze had fallen. Near the edge of the cliff, where Saizo had perched himself waiting for a body that they didn’t find in one piece, was a shrine dedicated to the former ninja.

Saizo knelt before it and closed his eyes. He knew the risks of being a ninja and of serving the Hoshidan royals, yet he had never really thought about the reality that he might lose his twin.

“I thought I saw you slip away.”

Saizo stood up immediately and looked at the other soldier. The Chevois woman, Scarlet, guided to wyvern to land a few yards away before sliding out of the saddle.

“What do you want?” The ninja demanded. He’d been hoping for time alone to mourn.

“I brought some gifts.” Scarlet explained, smiling cordially at him. “The first one is this.” She held out a pair of shruikan to the older man, who hesitantly took them from her. He eyed them critically.

“What… is on this?” He asked her, nodding at the array of small gems decorating the weapon’s surface. 

“It’s a mosaic! Look closely at the clusters, they make shapes!” Scarlet explained proudly. Saizo looked at them more closely and sure enough he made out a flame on one and a leaf on the other.

“Why these shapes?” He asked with now-genuine curiosity.

“The flame is you, and the leaf is Kaze.” Saizo’s grip tightened on the one with the leaf pattern, his chest constricting slightly.

“Y.. You said ‘gifts’.” He cleared his throat and looked back at the wyvern lord. She smiled and looked up at the sky, and Saizo noticed the sun had set and the stars were coming out.

“In Cheve, we believe that when we die, we become a star.” She told him. “The gems, the mosaics, they remind me of the stars. These words are the other gift. No matter how much it seems your brother is gone, maybe it could put you at ease to think that he’s above us, watching over you.”

The ninja tilted his head back to look at the sky. He pondered the woman’s words, and although he never considered himself a religious man, he felt some comfort in what she’d said. Thinking that Kaze was above them, watching over them, made a weight lift from his shoulders.

“Thank you, Scarlet.”

“Hm… I’d love the credit, but… It wasn’t my idea.”

 

* * *

 

Saizo was a man on a mission. First, find Orochi. He searched high and low for the devious woman, but for once she was nowhere to be found.

“Looking for me?” The ninja jumped and whirled around. Orochi was jumping off of a kinshi with a bag full of what he could only assume was herbs for more charms. Saizo huffed and nodded his head. “Ah, still a man of few words. So tell me, what’s wrong? In the mood for a fortune?” She teased.

“This.” He took the bottle charm out of his pocket and held it out to her.

“Oh, ho~! So you kept it! Knowing you, you probably would’ve dumped it at the first chance.” The diviner commented.

“I wanted to thank you.” He told her before pocketing the bottle once more. Orochi looked genuinely shocked.

“T-thank me?” The diviner was at a loss of words.  _ For once. _

“It was… helpful. I therefore thought thanks were in order.” He explained. Orochi smiled widely at him.

“It was no trouble.” She replied, pleased and impressed. Saizo turned away and started in another direction. “Where are you off to now? Don’t you want a fortune, sourpuss!”

Saizo simply grunted in reply before disappearing.

 

* * *

 

“Corrin.” The noble started, clasping a hand to her chest in surprise. She turned her head to see Saizo approaching. She winced and steeled herself for whatever tongue lashing she was due to receive.

“Uhm, hey Saizo!” Corrin greeted, attempting to sound cheerful. Saizo put a hand in his pocket and pulled out- Oh.

“You made these.” He stated simply, holding out the shruikan with the mosaic designs on them. The dragon blushed.

“Y-yes, but in my defense, Scarlet wasn’t supposed to tell you!” She explained.

“Thank you.”

“Uh-uhm? T-thank you?”

Saizo nodded his head before tucking the shruikan back into his pocket. “I have...seen the error of my ways. It is not you I should blame, but Nohr for ultimately causing this. You have… helped put me at peace. For that, a thank you is in order.”

“Oh! You’re welcome!” Corrin dipped her head in respect, utterly surprised that the intimidating ninja had… forgiven her?

“Have a good day, Lady Corrin.” Then Saizo was gone.

 

* * *

 

They did not bring back a body, the day Kaze fell. They said the fall was too high

The shrine was made by fellow teammates and soldiers, all paying respect to the beloved ninja, but Saizo refused to help with it. At the time, it was too painful.

But now…

Now it’s all over. King Garon was dead, and two new Kings stepped up. One being Lord Ryoma, now King Ryoma. In celebration for the end of the war, Ryoma had given his retainers time to go home and visit their families.

Yet here Kagero was, standing at his side, as the ninja knelt before a freshly dug hole, a small bottle filled with herbs in his hands.

“Rest well, brother.” He murmured over the charm before placing it in the hole. Together, they buried it. The charm was no replacement for a body, but it was enough.

“Are you alright, Saizo?” Kagero asked him softly. The ninja looked at her and nodded.

“Yes.”

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> I was so upset in Birthright when the avoidable Kaze death happened. Even more so after I found out it was avoidable! But after completing the game and doing another run of it, where Kaze doesn't die, I started to wonder what Saizo's reaction might've been. They were twins after all, so why don't we get any special scene with Saizo after the whole ordeal!
> 
> Started off as a drabble, ended up going for longer. Might go back and edit it or make a longer version? This was really fun and helped me develop characters!


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